California State University, San Bernardino California State University, San Bernardino CSUSB ScholarWorks CSUSB ScholarWorks Theses Digitization Project John M. Pfau Library 1994 The effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on reducing test- The effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on reducing test- taking anxiety taking anxiety Jeffrey Michael Griffin Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project Part of the Education Commons, and the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Griffin, Jeffrey Michael, "The effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on reducing test-taking anxiety" (1994). Theses Digitization Project. 488. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/488 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the John M. Pfau Library at CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses Digitization Project by an authorized administrator of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected].
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California State University, San Bernardino California State University, San Bernardino
CSUSB ScholarWorks CSUSB ScholarWorks
Theses Digitization Project John M. Pfau Library
1994
The effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on reducing test-The effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on reducing test-
taking anxiety taking anxiety
Jeffrey Michael Griffin
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project
Part of the Education Commons, and the Psychology Commons
Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Griffin, Jeffrey Michael, "The effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on reducing test-taking anxiety" (1994). Theses Digitization Project. 488. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/488
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the John M. Pfau Library at CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses Digitization Project by an authorized administrator of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Cognitive-Somatic Anxiety Questionnaire (CSAQ) and the Revised Worry-Emotionality Scale (RWES) 28
VI
; INTRODUCTION .
In 1977, the American Psychiatric Association made the
following recommendation:
"The Association strongly recommends that research be undertaken in the form of well-controlled studies to evaluate the specific usefulness, indications, contraindications, and dangers of meditative techniques. The research should compare the various forms of meditation with one another and with psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacologic modalities." (APA, 1977, p. 134).
Meditation is one of the oldest forms of therapy
(Walsh, 1992). The term "meditation" generally refers to a
group of differing mental exercises which usually involve
sitting quietly and/or focusing on virtually any simple
external or internal stimulus (Smith, 1975).
The teachings and techniques of meditation are
thousands of years old and derived from the philosophies of
Zen Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism (Nyanaponika, 1972), and
the Vedic tradition in India (Maharishi, 1969). Meditation
does and did occur from a religious and/or spiritual
framework, but Shapiro (1982) points out that the definition
of meditation is noncultic and does not depend on any
religious and/or spiritual framework to understand or use
it.
Three different types of meditation are typically
identified: a focus on the field (mindfulness meditation),
a focus on a specific object within the field (concentrative
meditation), and a shifting back and forth between the two
(Shapiro, 1982). The techniques and process of meditation
■ ^ , ' ■ ■ , ■ l-"' ■ ^
encompass the idea that a person is not divided into two
parts (mind, body), and it acknowledges that peoples'
abilities are more than the sum of their parts.
Bankart (1990) has identified a major trend in
psychological thinking that will have great significance for
the future of psychotherapy. This is the demise of the
traditional Western dichotoity between mind and body, and the
adoption of the view that mind and body can no longer be
conceptualized dualistically, but rather as interacting and
interconnected. What this means to the future of
psychotherapy is a shift away from the reductionistic values
that characterize Western psychotherapeutic traditions to a
more Eastern view which values concern for the whole over
the systematic dissection of the individual. The increased
attention and research done on meditation reflects this
trend towards regarding the person holistically that is
slowly gaining prominence in the therapeutic and scientific
community.
In the literature, meditation has beenlmainly examined
as an adjunctive procedure for psychotherapy (Kutz,
Twenty-seven subjects were randomly assigned to the
experimental groups and twenty-seven subjects were randomly
assigned to the control groups. Subjects were obtained
through solicitation from classes and a sign-up sheet which
gave a brief description of the experiment and requirements
to participate.
24
The researcher held short (5-10 minute) individual
interviews with all interested subjects before the
experiment began to ascertain if they were able to commit to
treatment, if they were in good psychological health, and If
they had previous meditation experience. The subjects who
qualified were then randomly assigned to either the
treatment groups or one of the two control groups. All
subjects were treated in accordance with "Ethical Principles
of Psychologists" (American Psychological Association,
1981)'.
The treatment condition was a highly structured 5-week
training based on the program developed by Kabat-Zinn (1990)
(see Appendix C). The meetings lasted approximately 1 1/2
hours per week. Subjects were administered the two scales
assessing test-taking anxiety at specific times designated
by the Solomon four-group design to which they were
assigned.: An informed consent sheet (See form D) was
attached to the questionnaires and the subjects were asked
to read and sign it then detach it from the questionnaires
and give it to the researchers to ensure their
confidentiality. A debriefing statement (see Appendix E)
was also affixed to the posttest measures and given to all
subjects when the posttest measures were administered.
The subjects in the control conditions met two times
corresponding to the first and last meetings of the
experimental groups. One, control group was asked to fill
25
out the pretest measures and the other was not, according to
the Solomon four-group design. Both groups were then
instructed to return in five weeks on a set date and time to
fill out the two measures. The subjects were contacted by
phone to remind them to come to the second meeting.
Subjects in the control conditions did not receive the
mindfulness meditation training but were debriefed about the
procedure used in the treatment condition upon conclusion of
the experiment. Subjects in the control conditions were
given the option to receive the mindfulness meditation
training upon conclusion of the experiment. Twenty-two of
the control subjects were interested in and received the
mindfulness meditation training upon conclusion Of the
experiment.
RESULTS ,
An experimental randomized between-subjects Solomon
four-group design was used. Two groups received the
mindfulness meditation training (simultaneously) and two
groups did not receive the mindfulness meditation training
(control groups). Two groups were pretested and two were ■
not. The dependent variables were the subjects' posttest
scores on two measures pf cognitiye test-taking anxiety and
two measures of sdmatic test-taking anxiety.
Upon analysis p'f;the data recorded from the two court
reporting schpdis, similhr results were obtained on the
effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on the somatic .
26
aspects of test-taking anxiety. Only small differences were
obtained, however, between the schools on the analysis of
the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on the cognitive
aspects of test-taking anxiety. Because of the similarity
of results across locations and because the number of
subjects from each location was only 27, subjects' scores
were combined across locations, and all subsequent analyses
were based on data obtained from the two locations.
The data were analyzed first in an analysis of variance
(ANOVAj. Table 1 shows the means and standard deviations
for the cognitive and somatic scores on the CSAQ and RWES.
The lowest mean found was for the CSAQ cognitive
test-taking anxiety scores of the posttested only subjects
who received the mindfulness meditation training (X =
10.80). The highest mean was for the RWES somatic anxiety
scores of the posttested only subjects who did not receive
the mindfulness meditation training. As can be seen in
Table 1, the means for all groups were relatively low, with
a possible score range of 6 to 35, indicating that no
respondents were reporting high levels of either cognitive
or somatic symptoms of test-taking anxiety at posttest.
More importantly, low means were obtained on both measures
for the pretest scores. Means for pretest scores on the
CSAQ for subjects receiving the training were: X = 16.83
for the cognitive questions, and X = 19.00 for the somatic
questions. On the RWES, pretest means for the subjects
27
Means and Standard Deviations of Scores on the Cognitive-Somatic Anxiety
Questionnaire:XCSAQ) and the Revised WorrY-Emotionality Scale (RWES)
iSJ 00
1:SAQ:'
®SomatiC ^cognitive
Pre and Post Test
?. Nteditation';No Meditation
7 SD/. M SD
"14.'177 ■ ;:13.42:;
3/ ■ 4.84 . 4.58
13.58
13.83
4.12
5,27
. : Post Test Only
Meditation No Meditation
M SD " : M ,
12.73
10.80
2.99
V 3.39: 3 16.87 ; 13.00
4.55
4.44 -
.7 v
RWES; .
-Somatic ■
"Cognitive ■12.50
; :12.17 5.44
. 4.28:: 12.58 12.42
3 .73 3.58
11.20 12.20
3.26 3 .55
16.00 13.67 ;
4.31 4.64 ,. .3, : 7,
Note": Means are for i>ost-test only for all measures.
^Somatic scores had a possible range from 7 to 35. ''Cogriitive scores had a possible range from 6 to 30.
receiving the training were: X = 16.75 for the cognitive
questions, and X = 18.25' for the somatic questions.
Subjects who did not receive the mindfulness meditation
training reported pretest means on the GSAQ of: X = 11.91
for the cognitive questions, and = 13.83 foh the somatic
questions. The pretest means of the scores of the control
subjects for the RWES were: X = 12.41 for the cognitive
questions, and X =13.41 for the somatic questions.
Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Cognitive
Test-Taking Anxietv
The first hypothesis predicted that subjects receiving
mindfulness meditation would score lower at posttest on two
measures of cognitive anxiety than subjects not receiving
the mindfulness meditation training. When analyzing the
data from the CSAQ, there was no significant effect, F(l) =
1.37, p. = n. s., for the mindfulness meditation training on
reducing cognitive test-taking anxiety. A second main
effect also showed no significant differences between the
subjects who were pretested or not, F(l) = 2.04, p. = n. s.
The data obtained from the RWES showed similar results.
There was no significant effect of mindfulness meditation on
cognitive test-taking anxiety reduction, F(l) = .705, p. =
n. s. Also, there were no significant differences as a
function of whether the Subjects were pretested or not, F(l)
= 335, p. = n. s. For both measures of cognitive
test-taking anxiety, there were also no significant
29
interaction effects, F(l) = .545, n- = n. s., for the CSAQ
and, F(l) =.301, = n. s. for the RWES.
Although significant results were not,obtained for the
effectiveness Of mindfulness meditation on reducing the
symptoms of cognitive test-taking anxiety, comments from
several subjects indicated that mindfulness meditation did
have at least some positive effect on cognitions associated
with test-taking. One subject reported that She was able to
"remain focused for longer periods of time," and when she
loses her focus, she was able to "refocus and bring the
concentration back." Another subject reported that she was
able to "concentrate for longer periods of time," and that
she found the practice of mindfulness meditation a "very
calming experience." Many subjects also reported that they
expected to continue the formal practice of mindfulness
meditation after the experiment was concluded.
Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Somatic
Test-Taking Anxietv
Support was obtained for the second hypothesis
predicting that subjects receiving mindfulness meditation
training would score lower at posttest on somatic
test-taking anxiety than subjects who did not receive the
training. Subjects receiving the mindfulness meditation
training scored significantly lower on the RWES measure of
somatic test-taking anxiety than subjects not receiving the
meditation training, F{1) = 5.57, p. < .05. A second main
30
effect of whether the subjects received the pretest measure
or not was not significant, F(l) = .842, p. = n. s.
Results obtained for the CSAQ measure of somatic
test-taking anxiety were marginally significant for the
effect of mindfulness meditation training, with meditation
subjects scoring lower than subjects who did not receive the
training, F(l) = 3.26, p. < .08. A second main effect of
whether the subject was pretested or not was notsignificant,
F(1) = .664, p. = n. s.
A significant interaction between meditation training
(or not) and whether the subjects were pretested or not was
found on both the RWES, F(l) = 4.18, p. < .05, and the CSAQ,
F(l) = 4.32, p_^ < 05, measures of somatic test-taking
anxiety. There were no posttest differences between
meditation subjects and non-meditation subjects if they had
been pretested. However, if they received only the
posttest, then subjects receiving the meditation training
were significantly lower on somatic test-taking anxiety at
posttest than subjects not receiving the meditation
training.
Because of the significant differences between
meditation and control groups at pretesting on both
measures, an analysis of covariance was completed in which
the subjects' scores on the dependent variables were
controlled for the effects of pretesting. In this analysis,
a significant difference between meditators and control
31
subjects was found on the CSAQ measure of somatic
test-taking anxiety, F(l) = 11.35, < .05, indicating that
mindfulness meditation was successful in reducing subjects'
levels on this measure of somatic test-taking anxiety.
Several subjects commented on the changes that occurred
for them in relation to their somatic experiences of
test-taking anxiety. Among the students that commented, one
subject reported that before learning mindfulness
meditation, she would "start shaking... my heart would
pound..., and 1 would have a knot in my stomach," before
taking a test. After learning the practice of mindfulness
meditation, the subject reported that she "felt a lot
calmer," and that the mindfulness meditation was "very
relaxing." Another subject commented that "my body doesn't
tense up as much and I am able to breathe and relax my
body."
Correlation Between Time Spent Meditating
and Test-Taking Anxietv Reduction
A third hypothesis examined the relationship between
minutes spent meditating and test-taking anxiety reduction.
It was expected that subjects who spent a greater amount of
time practicing mindfulness mediation would experience the
greatest test-taking anxiety reduction. A correlation
analysis, however, provided support for this hypothesis only
for the CSAQ measure of somatic test-taking anxiety, r.
= .30, p.^ = .06, Other correlations obtained between
32
meditation time and the measures were: (CSAQ ^cognitive):
r. = .058, E. = n. s.; (RWES - somatic): r. = .216,
= n. s.; and (RWES - cognitive): r. = .183, = n. s.
VDISCUSSION
It was hypothesized that mindfulness meditation would
be successful in reducing cognitive and somatic symptoms of
test-taking anxiety. It was also hypothesized that there '
would be a correlation between time spent meditating and
test-taking anxiety reduction. The data obtained in this
experiment produced support for the effectiveness of
mindfulness meditation in reducing the symptoms of somatic
test-taking anxiety but not the symptoms of cognitive
test-taking anxiety.
In this research, mindfulness meditation was shown to
significantly reduce symptoms of somatic test-taking anxiety
on both the CSAQ and the RWES. The reduction in somatic
test-taking anxiety cannot be attributed to any effects of
pretesting since an analysis of covariance controlling for
this effect stili-yielded a significant reduction in somatic
test-taking anxiety on the CSAQ for those subjects receiving
the mindfulness meditation training. This finding supports
the interpretation that mindfulness meditation is similar to
transcendental meditation in its ability to elicit the
"relaxation response" (Benson et al., 1974). The design of
mindfulness meditation itself may be a reason for this :
finding. The subjects were asked to listen to and follow
7 33 ■ ■ ■ -i' ■ ■
along with a cassette recording developed by Kabat-Zinn
(1990) which focused primarily on somatic anxiety. The
structure of following along with the tape as well as the
relative ease of being able to practice the meditation by
following the tape may have helped subjects' abilities to
decrease their levels of somatic test-taking anxiety. In
the somatic area, the trainer's inexperience in teaching
mindfulness meditation may have been balanced by the
subjects' abilities to practice meditation by themselves
with the use of the tape.
In this experiment, mindfulness meditation was not
found to be successful in reducing the cognitive aspects of
test-taking anxiety as measured by the CSAQ and RWES. A
possible reason for this finding may have to do with the
short period of time involved with the training of
mindfulness meditation (5 weeks). This may not have been
enough time to elicit changes in cognitions associated with
test-taking anxiety. For example, the idea of acceptance of
anxiety■ was . discussed, in the traihing. . Acceptance, of
anxiety is the ability to accept the fact that taking a test
can produce anxiety ■ i.Orice acceptance of anxiety Occurs,
some subjects report a "lessening", of the crippling effects
of anxiety and they are able to stay concentrated and more
focused while taking a test. Acceptance of anything,such
as fear, loss, and/or anxiety is a process that requires
time and patience. A person's ability to accept the fact
that anxiety can occur while taking a test may take more
than five weeks to fully understand and integrate into one's
cognitive schemas before it can change actual test-taking
behavior. Therefore, even though mindfulness meditation
directly addresses the cognitive aspects of test-taking
anxiety,- a short program of only five weeks may not be
enough for people to fully benefit from its teaching.
Another possible reason for the ineffectiveness of
mindfulness meditation on reducing the cognitive symptoms of
test-taking anxiety may have to do with the pretest scores.
The pretest measures showed that the subjects' were not
reporting high levels of cognitive test-taking anxiety
before they received the training.
Perhaps the subjects were not sufficiently cognitively
anxious for mindfulness meditation to be shown effective in
reducing cognitive test-taking anxiety.
The CSAQ and RWES measures themselves may be another
reason for finding no significant cognitive test-taking
anxiety reduction. The questions on the measures may not
accurately reflect the cognitive test-taking anxiety
experienced by court reporters. Questions such as "I feel
like I am losing out on things because I can't make up my
mind soon enough," (CSAQ) and "I feel regretful before/while
taking a test," (RWES) may not have a substantial impact on
court reporters cognitive test-taking anxiety before they
enter a testing situation. A possible solution for this
35
problem is to create a measure of cognitive and somatic
test-taking anxiety developed specifically for the court
reporter population. A questionnaire developed particularly
for this population may be able to more accurately reflect
court reporters levels of cognitive and somatic test-taking
anxiety.
The inexperience of the trainer may have to do with the
results showing the ineffectiveness of mindfulness
meditation on reducing the cognitive,symptoms of test-taking
anxiety. The trainer had practiced mindfulness meditation
for one year prior to the experiment and had not run a
mindfulness meditation training class in the past. The data
obtained showing the ineffectiveness of mindfulness
meditation in reducing the symptoms of cognitive test-taking
anxiety may be due to the inexperience of the trainer in
teaching the concepts associated with the cognitive aspects
of the practice of mindfulness meditation.
Partial support was found for the third hypothesis
which predicted that subjects who spent more time meditating
would experience greater test-taking anxiety reduction.
Because all subjects who received meditation training
reported that they either spent the full required minutes
meditating (45 minutes daily) or came close to fulfilling
the time requirements of meditation practice (35 minutes
daily) for this experiment, there was a restricted range in
time spent meditating (35 minutes to 45 minutes daily).
36
This could limit the discovery of finding any correlation
between time spent meditating and test-taking anxiety
reduction. This finding may also be explained by the fact
that it is not the amount of time spent meditating but
rather the quality or amount of effort that the subjects put
into the meditation practice. Commenting on their
experiences, some subjects reported that their levels of
somatic test-taking anxiety had been reduced, but at times
they were only able to stay awake during the cassette
recording of the meditation for a few minutes due to its
calming and relaxing nature. This may indicate that it may
be the amount of willingness to practice meditation that.is
useful for somatic test-taking anxiety reduction instead of
the amount of time meditating.
There was, however, a significant correlation between
meditation practice and the CSAQ measure of somatic
test-taking anxiety. This finding may be due to the fact
that by the very practice of just sitting or lying down and
resting while listening to the tape helped the subjects to
calm down and relax. Perhaps the time the subjects spent
meditating was the only time of the day which they could
take a "time out" for themselves and relax which could have
aided in reducing their levels of somatic test-taking
anxiety because they were more rested.
The focus of this experiment was the reduction of
test-taking anxiety and its associated negative symptoms.
37
but an interesting phenomenon was reported by two subjects
which seem to indicate that the opposite (increase of
negative symptoms) occurred for them. One subject reported
that she was able to recall a past traumatic experience that
had been repressed and out of the field of her awareness
before she began the practice of mindfulness meditation.
Another subject reported that she became "evenly more
severely depressed," after she practiced meditation. Not
much research has been done on the relationship between
meditation and the remembering of past traiamatic experiences
or emotions. In a recent article, Miller (1993) presented
three case studies which detail the unveiling of traumatic
memories and emotions through the practice of meditation.
He reported that, in some instances, it appears that
unresolved or repressed material from the past surfaces with
its original intensity during the practice of mindfulness
meditation. Hypotheses about the relationship of
mindfulness meditation and the remembering of past traumatic
experiences and emotions need to be researched and examined.
One such hypothesis may be that the ability of mindfulness
meditation to elicit the "relaxation response" lowers a
person's defense mechanisms and coping responses, thereby
enabling past traumatic episodes to come into conscious
awareness. The possibility of a person remembering past
traumatic experiences or emotions raises the issue of how
critical informed consent is to naive persons considering
38
mindfulness meditation. As a result of the experiences
reported by two subjects in the first group receiving
training, the informed consent used in this experiment was
changed to inform the subjects that the process of
mindfulness meditation can bring up unpleasant feelings,
memories, and/or thoughts (see Appendix F). Full informed
consent is essential to meet the ethical standards that a
person understand fully the possible dangers associated with
the practice of mindfulness meditation.
There are several important implications for the
practice of mindfulness meditation that emerge from this
study. One implication is the effectiveness of mindfulness
meditation in reducing somatic symptoms of test-taking
anxiety in a relatively short amount of time. The
highly-structured, short intervention could be implemented
in the curriculum of court reporting schools to help the
students deal with their somatic test-taking anxiety. The
results obtained in this experiment may also generalize to a
wider population of students and be shown to be effective in
helping with their somatic test-taking anxiety as well.
Programs and instructional classes on mindfulness meditation
could be implemented in colleges and universities in order
to help students deal with their symptoms of somatic
test-taking anxiety. Another implication concerns the use
of mindfulness meditation for addressing cognitive symptoms.
While it may be that this type of meditation does not have
39
an effect on the cognitive aspects of anxiety, it may also
be that a longer period of training would demonstrate that
mindfulness meditation can reduce cognitive symptoms of
test-taking anxiety.
An area for future research may be to lengthen the time
of the mindfulness meditation intervention equivalent to the
length of Kabat-Zinn's, Massion's, Kristeller's, Peterson's,
Fletcher's, Pbert's, Lenderking's, and Santorelli's (1992)
training and reinvestigate the relationship between
cognitive test-taking anxiety and the mindfulness meditation
practice. Their research was able to show significant
anxiety reduction with a program of mindfulness meditation
which was 10-weeks long and that used subjects who met full
DSM-III-R criteria for one of the anxiety disorders. It is
possible that mindfulness meditation is effective in
reducing cognitive symptoms of test-taking anxiety when
practiced over a longer time period with more anxious
subjects than employed in the present research. Another
fertile area of exploration may be;to examine the
relationship between mindfulness meditation and the
recollection of past traumatic experiences and emotions., ,As
yet, this area is relatively unexplored but of potential
significance to all treatment interventions employing some
form of meditation.
40
Appendix A
The Cognitive-Somatic Anxiety Questionnaire
Directions; Please rate the degree to which yqu generally or typically experience these symptoms when: you are feeling anxious before/while taking a test. Please use the following numerical scale:
1. This statement does not describe my condition at all before/while taking a test.
2. The condition is barely noticeable before/while taking a test.
3. The condition is moderate before/while taking a test. 4. The condition is very strong; the statement
describes my condition very well before/while taking a test.
I find it difficult to concentrate on a test
because of uncontrollable thoughts.
My heart beats faster before/while taking a test.
I worry too much over something that doesn't really matter before/while taking a test.
I feel jittery in iny body before/while taking a test.
I imagine terrifying scenes before/while taking a test. . .
I get diarrhea before/while taking a test.
I can't keep anxiety-provoking pictures out of iry mind before/while taking a test.
I feel tense in my stomach before/while taking a test.
Some unimportant thought runs through my mind and bothers me before/while taking a. test.
I nervously pace before taking a test.
I feel like I am losing out on things because I can't make up my mind soon enough.
I become immobilized before/while taking a test.
41
I can't keep anxiety-provoking thoughts out of my mind before/while taking a test.
I perspire before/while taking a test.
42
Appendix B
The Revised Worry-Emotionality Scale
Directions: To the left of each of the following statements, please indicate yoiir feelings, attitudes, or thoughts as they are before/while taking a test. Please use the following numerical scale:
1. The statement does not describe my condition before/ while taking a test.
2. The condition is barely noticeable before/while taking a test.
3. The condition is moderate before/while taking a test. ,
4. The condition is strong before/while taking a test. 5. The condition is very strong; the statement
describes my condition very well before/while taking a test.
I feel my heart beat fast before/while taking a test.
I feel regretful before/while taking a test.
I am so tense that rty stomach is upset before/ while taking a test.
I am afraid that I should have studied more for
the test.
I have an uneasy, upset feeling before/while taking a test.
I feel that others will be disappointed in me.
I am nervous before/while taking a test.
I feel I may not do as well on the test as I could.
I feel panicky before/while taking a test.
I do not feel very confident about my performance before/while taking a test.
43
Please indicate the following:
Age: Sex:
Educational level - Freshman Sophomore.
Junior Senior Graduate—
Culture - African-American White
Hispanic-American Asian-American
Other
Minutes spent meditating (per day)
44
Appendix C
Treatment Condition
The treatment condition was a highly structured 5-week
training of mindfulness meditation based on the program of
Kabat-Zinn (1990). In the training, the subjects were
instructed on how to practice mindfulness meditation. They
were taught the seven attitudes that help to cultivate
The formal practice of mindfulness meditation begins
with simply trying to focus attention on the breath and
breathing. Kabat-Zinn (1990) suggests that one of the best
places to focus on while jDreathihg is the belly. When we
focus on Our bteathing down in the belly, we are tuning•into
a region of the body that is below the agitations of our
thinking mind and is intrinsically calmer. The subjects
were instructed on how to breath from the diaphram and to
pay attention to their breathing. They were instructed that
when the mind interjects thoughts and feelings and/or the
senses become heightened as they attempt to ascertain
attention, to simply acknowledge the thought or sense, let
it go, and gently shift their attention back to their
breathing. The subjects were to practice this technique
for increasingly longer amounts of time in the meetings (5
minutes the first session, 10 minutes the second session,
etc.), They were also instructed to practice mindfulness
■45
meditation individually for 45-minutes per day, six days a
week using a mindfulness meditation tape that was
distributed to them at the first meeting.
Subjects were also instructed on how to informally
practice mindfulness meditation by simply being mindful of
their breathing from time to time during the day, at any
time, at any place.
The meeting time was spent engaging in the formal
practice of mindfulness meditation for increasingly longer
amounts of time as well as talking about personal
experiences while practicing mindfulness meditation. The
subjects in the mindfulness meditation group were asked to
keep all instructions concerning the mindfulness meditation
training strictly confidential so as not to contaminate the
control groups.
46
Appendix D
INFORMED CONSENT
The experiment in which you are about to participate is
designed to investigate the relationship between mindfulness
meditation and test-taking anxiety. It is being conducted
by Jeff Griffin, a graduate student in the M. S.
Clinical/Counseling Psychology program, Lynda Warren Ph. d.,
Gloria Cowan Ph. d., and Fred Newton Ph. d. This experiment
has been approved by the Institutional Review Board within
Psychology of California State University, San Bernardino.
In this experiment, you will learn the practice of
mindfulness meditation during a five-week period. The
training sessions will be held once per week and last
approximately 1 1/2 hours each. Please be assured that the
practice is in no way harmful. There is no evidence that
the practice of mindfulness meditation has any undesirable
side effects or harmful consequences. Jeff Griffin will be
the instructor/researcher for the mindfulness meditation
sessions.
You will be asked to fill out two short
questionnaires, once at the beginning of the first training
session and once at the end of the last training session.
Only questions pertaining to test-taking anxiety will be
asked.
Please be assured that any information that you provide
will be held in strict confidence by the researchers. At no
47
time will your name be reported along with your responses.
All data will be reported in group form only. At the
conclusion of this study, you will be able to receive a
report of the results. ■
Please understand that your participation in this
research is totally voluntary and you are free to withdraw
at any time during the study without penalty, and to remove
any data that you may have contributed.
I acknowledge that I have been informed of, and
understand, the nature and purpose of this study, and I
freely consent to participate. I acknowledge that I am at
least 18 years of age.
Signed
Date
48
Appendix E
Debriefing Statement
This experiment was designed to investigate the
relationship between mindfulness meditation and test-taking
anxiety. There was no deception used in this study. The
hypothesis being tested in the research was that the
practice of mindfulness meditation would reduce symptoms of
test-taking anxiety. Currently there is no literature on
the relationship between mindfulness meditation and
test-taking anxiety. Mindfulness meditation, however, has
been shown to be effective in reducing anxiety in general as
well as helping individuals who suffer from chronic and
constant pain.
If you wish to receive the results obtained in this
study, please contact the Psychology Department (phone #
909-880-5570) after May 1, 1994, If you have any questions
regarding this study, please contact Lynda Warren, Ph. d.
through the Department of Psychology, California State
University, San Bernardino (phone # 909-880-5580),
Thank you for participating in this study.
49
Appendix ,F
Revised Informed Consent
The experiment in which you are about to participate is
designed to investigate the relationship between mindfulness
mediation and test-taking anxiety. It is being conducted by
Jeff Griffin, a graduate student in the M. S. Clinical/
Counseling Psychology program, Lynda Warren, Ph. d., Gloria
Cowan ph. d., and Fred Newton, Ph. d. This experiment has
been approved by the Institutional Review Board within
Psychology of California State University, San Bernardino.
In this experiment, you will learn the practice of
mindfulness meditation during a five-week period. The
training sessions will be held once per week and last
approximately 11/2 hours each. There is no evidence that
the practice of mindfulness meditation has any undesirable
side effects or harmful consequences. For some people,
however, the p)ractice of mindfulness meditation can bring up
unpleasant feelings, memories, and/or thoughts. If this
occurs for you, please inform the researcher (Jeff Griffin)
immediately and appropriate recommendations will be made.
Jeff Griffin will be the instructor/researcher for the
mindfulness meditation sessions.
You will be asked to fill out two short questionnaires,
once at the beginning of the first training session and once
at the end of the last training session. Only questions
pertaining to test-taking anxiety will be asked.
50
Please be assured that any information that you provide
will be held in strict confidence by the researchers. At no
time will your name be reported along with your responses.
All data will be reported in group form only. At the
conclusion of this study, you will be able to receive a
report of the results.
Please understand that your participation in this
research is totally voluntary and you are free to withdraw
at any time during the study without penalty, and to remove
any data that you may have contributed.
I acknowledge that I have been informed of, and
understand, the nature and purpose of this study, and I
freely consent to participate. I acknowledge that I am at
least 18 years of age.
Signed
Date ' ' ■
51
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